Drowning victims identifiedTwo men drowned Thursday morning when the boat they were in capsized in Lake Dardanelle. Pope County Sheriff Aaron DuVall identified the victims Thursday afternoon as Xing Wu Dong and Tan Jiang. Dong, 40, was a Russellville resident and Jiang, 26, was believed to be from Searcy. At 3:18 a.m., the Pope County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) received a call of a possible drowning. Four men, all related, were in a boat on Lake Dardanelle off Pleasant Vie...

2 bodies recovered from overturned boat on Lake DardanelleAuthorities have just recovered two bodies from Lake Dardanelle, after an early-morning call of an overturned boat. At 3:18 a.m., the Pope County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) received a call of a possible drowning. Four men were in a boat on Lake Dardanelle off Pleasant View Road just before Twin Bridges when their boat overturned, Pope County Sheriff Aaron DuVall said. "Two of the men made it to shore," he said. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commissi...

RPD hosts Bike BlastThe Russellville Police Department (RPD) will host Bike Blast from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at the Train Depot in Russellville. The Bike Blast — a bike safety event — is free and open to public. RPD will hand out 200 free Schwinn bike helmets, maps that highlight bike lanes throughout the city, free reflectors and a $300 gift card to Carr's Chain Reaction for one child, aged 4-13, to purchase the bike of his or her choice. "The RPD is really excited ...

Bash at the Ballpark this FridayThe Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce will host Bash at the Ballpark 2014 at Arkansas Tech University on Friday, April 11. The event will include music, food and prizes in conjunction with the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys’ baseball game that evening at Tech Field against Ouachita Baptist University. Event sponsors include First State Bank, Sherwood Urgent Care, Walmart, Shelter Insurance – Matt Cooper, Advanced Wealth Management – Jarrod Tola...

Finance committee tables aquatic center talksThe City of Russellville Finance Committee tabled finalizing a site for an indoor aquatic center during its regular meeting Tuesday. Alderman Mark Tripp said the city's priority is making the right decision, not the quickest decision. "It's way more important, more prudent, for us to get this right for the the long-term benefit of the community than to hurry up for short-term gain,” he said. Earlier Tuesday, the Russellville Recreation and Par...

Venezia’s sustains loss from fireVenezia's Italian Kitchen in Russellville sustained heavy damage following a Tuesday night fire. Around 10 p.m. Tuesday, four units of Russellville firefighters responded to a structure fire at the restaurant on East Main Street. Upon arrival, the units found heavy smoke coming from the roof of the single-story building. The restaurant was closed at the time, and the firefighters reported nobody was in the building. Firefighters entered the bu...

Dardanelle welcomes new aldermanDARDANELLE — The Dardanelle City Council welcomed new alderman Leon Lane during its regular meeting Monday. Lane replaced alderman Scott Moore from Ward 2 because Moore is moving outside the city limits. "Considering the amount of time left, under Arkansas code, we are to appoint a replacement to serve out the unexpired term," City Attorney Ken Helton said. Moore resigned in March, and the term expires Dec. 31. The council, following state sta...

Police to crack down on distracted drivingLocal law enforcement will join a six-day national initiative to crack down on violators who text while driving. The "U Drive. U Text. U Pay." campaign, which begins Thursday and ends Tuesday, is a two-fold initiative that combines additional patrols devoted to watching for distracted drivers with a national media outreach designed to inform the public about the stepped-up patrols and the driver’s responsibility to obey the law. The Russellvil...

Commission recommends North Phoenix site for aquatic centerThe Russellville Recreation and Parks Commission approved the North Phoenix site as its first choice for the indoor aquatic center during its regular meeting Tuesday. The commission will give its recommendation to the Russellville City Council, which will make the final decision. The commission selected the L.V. Williamson Boys and Girls Club as its second choice. J.W. Stratton, commission chair, said his main priorities for the center are vis...

Bibler Bros. changes ownersAfter more than a century in business, Bibler Bros. Lumber Company in Russellville was bought out by Canada-based West Fraser Company earlier this month. Terry Freeman, Bibler Bros. owner and president, announced the sale on Tuesday. "I am excited to see our company continue to grow and prosper with the West Fraser Company," Freeman said. "West Fraser Company is impressed with the Russellville area, and I believe they will be an asset to our c...

Rollover crash leaves 1 deadA Pope County man was killed in a rollover accident Monday evening, according to an Arkansas State Police accident report. Lewis N. Brooks, 53, of Russellville was traveling west on State Highway 124 around 6:30 p.m. when he drove a 2005 Chevrolet truck off the roadway into a ditch, the report states. Brooks reportedly overcorrected and went across both lanes into the opposite ditch, where the truck hit a culvert, went airborne, hit a tree and...

New director adds splash of color to arts centerThe Arkansas River Valley Arts Center in Russellville named Amy Tarpley the new executive director. Tarpley is a longtime Russellville resident who graduated from Russellville High School (RHS) and majored in economics and finance at Arkansas Tech University. She and her husband, Blake, have two sons — Hunter, an RHS sophomore, and Alex, a third-grader at Center Valley Elementary. Tarpley said she was honored to become a part of the center's t...

Inaugural walk raises $9,000On Saturday, Arkansas Tech University will host the first Out of the Darkness walk in the Arkansas River Valley to promote awareness about suicide prevention. To date, 280 walkers have registered and more than $9,000 has been raised to support suicide prevention, education and advocacy in the community. Online registration at www.campuswalks.org is open, and participants can register the day of the walk. Registration begins at 8 a.m. The event...

PC Quorum Court finalizes step pay planThe Pope County Quorum Court unanimously adopted an ordinance Thursday that amended the chapter of the Personnel Policies and Procedures, which relates to employee compensation and fringe benefits, to implement a step pay plan for newly-hired and non-elected county employees. Justices of the Peace unanimously suspended the rules and read by title only for the second and third readings, then adopted the ordinance. An ordinance is read three tim...

News Briefs (April 5, 2014)Human resources workshop The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center will present, “Human Resources: What Every Business Should Know,” from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. Seating is limited and registration is required at (479) 356-2067 or asbtdc.org/training/russellville-events. Dessert theater at ATU Wesley Foundation The A.C.T.S. (Actors with Christ through Theatre and Song) group wil...

Fallen firefighter Richter rememberedPOTTSVILLE — Tuesday will mark the 13th anniversary of the day firefighter Brian Richter died in the line of duty. Richter, who was 34 when he died, lost control of his vehicle on the way to the fire station while responding to a 3 a.m. call about a house fire. He was married to Sonya and the couple had a 3-year-old son, Nicholaus. Nicholaus, now 16, plays percussion in the Pottsville High School marching band — a skill that allowed him to hon...

Johnson County joins national campaignThe schools, police departments and sheriff's offices in Clarksville, Lamar, Oark, Coal Hill and Scranton have formed the Johnson County Five to participate in a nationwide campaign to rediscover the outdoors. The group got the idea to participate after attending the Arkansas Safe School Conference in Little Rock over the summer. "According to experts, the time has come to plug back in to reading, outdoor activities, family fun and more," Clar...

Polling location 'no-go' without running waterThe Pope County Election Commission approved temporarily moving the Nogo polling location to the Tilly Community Center during its regular meeting. Election Coordinator Sherry Polsgrove told commissioners a poll worker expressed concerns about no running water at the Nogo polling location. The only restroom at the location is an outhouse. Polsgrove said a worker must walk through overgrown grass and brush to get to the outhouse. "Personally, I...

Autism mom: Awareness is first stepWhen Loretta Cochran's son, Wen, was diagnosed with autism in 2006, the Pope County mom was overwhelmed. "That's when the education began," Cochran said. She said prior to her son's diagnosis, she had never heard of autism. Now she is the advocacy chair for the Arkansas chapter of Autism Speaks — a national organization founded in 2005. Cochran said it's important for parents to know the signs of autism. "Early intervention is so important," s...

Pope dispatcher finalist for national awardPope County dispatcher Shane Sapp is one of 20 finalists from across the U.S. for the 2014 Smart Telecommunicator award, a national competition. "It's a pretty exciting opportunity to put a spotlight on emergency services in the county," Sapp said. "We've got a good team here." Sapp, 31, has worked for Pope County 911 since 2005. He was nominated for his quick-thinking during a call that included a medical emergency in Germany. A local girl wa...